Review: Samsung Galaxy Admire 2 for Cricket

Samsung's mid-ranger for Cricket Wireless is a capable Android smartphone that offers good looks on a budget.

Is It Your Type?

Most of Cricket's lineup classifies as entry-level or mid-range. The Samsung Galaxy Admire 2 falls closer to the mid-range in that spectrum. It's a fairly simple Android smartphone that isn't expensive, but still looks good and functions well.

Body

The Admire 2 is a compact smartphone that’s obviously a member of Samsung's family of Galaxy-branded devices. It fits right in with Samsung's conservative design language and closely resembles many of the phones Samsung has brought to market over the last year or so.

The Admire 2 may pull is shape and overall design from the Galaxy ilk, but Samsung chose some different shades in which to dress it. The display is surrounded by an attractive gray/blue panel that is framed with a chrome-colored rim. The chrome coloring wraps around the side edges and defines the Admire 2 's front face. The device has an oval shape that’s smooth and clean. The back has a brushed metal look that looks more silver than gray, especially when it catches a ray of light. Samsung used just the right touches here and there to give the Admire 2 an elegant and refined look, while still keeping it somewhat simple and usable.

As is often the case with Samsung phones, all of the materials are smooth and glossy. It's a slippery device. The Admire 2 has rounded edges to help it fit better in the hand, but it is fairly thick at 12 mm. Thanks to the smaller screen, the width and height are kept in check, and the weight is just fine. It is comfortable to hold and use, and I had no trouble slipping it into any pockets.

Body

Click a thumbnail above for a larger view.

The 4-inch screen is surrounded by a fairly thick bezel. It's not the worst I've ever seen, but there are certainly phones out there that offer a better screen-to-bezel ratio. The lone physical button on the front is a home key, which is placed just below the screen. This is customary for Samsung's smartphones. It’s silver-colored, has an oval shape to it, and is very easy to find with your thumb. The action is quite good. There are capacitive buttons on either side of the home button. In typical Samsung fashion, the menu button is on the left and and the back button is on the right. They didn't give me any trouble. The earpiece is covered by a chrome-colored grille, which I find looks classy.

The volume toggle is on the left side. It has an excellent profile and very good travel and feedback. The slot for memory cards is also on the left. It’s covered by a small hatch. That hatch worked fine and was easy to remove/replace. The screen lock/power button is placed high along the right edge of the phone. It also has a good profile and travel and feedback were perfect. The stereo headphone jack is on the top and the micro-USB port is on the bottom.

The battery cover forms the entire rear surface and a portion of the left and right side edges. It’s easy to remove. Both the battery and SIM card can be removed.

Samsung did a fine job designing and assembling the Admire 2. It's no Galaxy S 4, but it's not meant to be. Despite its low point of entry, the Admire 2 is classy enough that no one should feel embarrassed to use it.